Squid Game Review: The New Korean Survival Drama On Netflix Amazed Us | 오징어 게임

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk

Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Oh Young-soo, Wi Ha-joon, Jung Ho-yeon, Heo Sung-tae

Platform: Netflix

Ratings: 4/5 (four stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Squid Game is Netflix’s new Korean survival drama, a project born from an idea by director Hwang Dong-hyuk (The Fortress, Miss Granny) that has taken shape over the past 13 years. The title of the tv series references a popular Korean children’s game that uses a squid-shaped board, but as we will reveal in our Squid Game review, there is just nothing innocent about the deadly challenge to which Hwang invites us to be spectators. The show, in fact, sees a large group of people, united by the fact that they find themselves in desperate economic situations, take part in a survival game that is giving away a large sum of money. The premises may seem all too well known, just think of other productions of the streaming giant such as the most recent Alice in Borderland. In reality, Squid Game has the ability to subvert expectations right from the start, often leading the viewer to wonder what direction the show will ultimately take.

Squid Game Review: The Story

456 people in dire economic situations are selected to take part in a mysterious game that will allow the winner to take home a huge cash prize. Soon, however, the competitors will realize that, despite the appearance, those in which they have to participate are not innocent games for children but real survival challenges in which the term “eliminated” is understood with its meaning. literal. A descent into hell in which, however, the participants take part in an absolutely voluntary way. As the protagonist Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), a 47-year-old buried in debt, with a failed marriage, a daughter whose custody he has lost and a seriously ill mother. The meeting (not accidental) with a mysterious man on the subway will lead him, in fact, to contact the secret organization promoting the games with the hope of being able to put the misfortunes of the past behind him and start a new life. Provided you can survive, of course.

Although the central element of the series conceived by Hwang Dong-hyuk is the challenge to the death, Squid Game surprises us from the beginning by reserving ample space for the deepening of its main characters. Those expecting to get right into the game might be disappointed by the sometimes slow pace of the narrative, especially with regard to the first two episodes. In reality, this choice will prove to be a prerequisite for the objectives of the series which aims above all to try to remain in a more realistic dimension possible, despite the brutality of the events. In the first two episodes (out of the 8 total), which can be considered as a sort of pilot, some members of this varied team of competitors are presented who, despite their different backgrounds, they all have one thing in common: a desperate need for money. In particular, we are immersed in the world of Ki-hoon, a protagonist as imperfect as he is affable who, despite the vice of gambling and the loan sharks at his heels, tries his best not to disappoint his mother and daughter.

Gi-hun is the heart at the center of this dramatic story, capable of bringing a little humor and lightness to even the most desperate situations, inevitably giving the viewer someone to cheer for. However, he is not the only character that one grows fond of over the course of the narrative. despite the habit of gambling and loan sharks on his heels, he tries his best not to disappoint his mother and daughter. Gi-hun is the heart at the center of this dramatic story, capable of bringing a little humor and lightness to even the most desperate situations, inevitably giving the viewer someone to cheer for. However, he is not the only character that one grows fond of over the course of the narrative. despite the habit of gambling and loan sharks on his heels, he tries his best not to disappoint his mother and daughter. Gi-hun is the heart at the center of this dramatic story, capable of bringing a little humor and lightness to even the most desperate situations, inevitably giving the viewer someone to cheer for. However, he is not the only character that one grows fond of over the course of the narrative.

The Review

Squid Game, however, is not only blood and survival, but also a compelling story that leads us to connect with the lives of the protagonists, who are credible and well characterized. In this sense, this season’s pilot opens up precisely on Ki-Hoon’s life, letting us know his vices, his desperation and the roads along which he wanders looking for help. And it is precisely the desperation of the participants that binds them, given that despite having the possibility to choose a different path they will decide to continue, trying to get out of a miserable existence that offers no hope.

And if life out there is hell, we might as well face death to change your future. A feeling that will bring out their survival instinct, leading them to a process of dehumanization that will lead them to a primordial state in which the only thing that matters is the goal. An element that also re-emerges outside the competition, when corpses are exploited for the trade in organs, and human flesh is measured in money.

The first season of Squid Game consists of nine episodes and, with the exception of the first season, the others are characterized by the various rounds of the competition, leaving room for a parallel secondary story that involves the investigation of a policeman in search of his missing brother. Each round is a different children’s game, and as the episodes pass, alliances and clashes will be created that will be fundamental to get to the end.

If the premises and aspects we have talked about have enticed you, know that the way in which all these elements are managed is also largely convincing. After an initial introductory phase, the adrenaline, the frenzy and the tension come into play, hitting the viewer through well-shot scenes that do not hesitate to show the bloody nature of the competition, playing on the innocence of childish games that are an integral part of a rigid and precise slaughter.

Another strong point are also the relationships and insights concerning the characters, capable of involving by significantly strengthening the final stages of the competition, giving emotions and making us suffer together with the participants. As in other similar products, the issue of social class also comes to the surface, attacking the role of money and its significance in today’s society , in which everything has a price.

Squid Game Review: The Last Words

Squid Game entertains, excites and involves thanks to credible characters and a great rhythm, but in the end some creaking comes out that ruins an almost perfect picture. The final result is certainly positive, and if you are looking for a series that can keep you glued to the screen this is definitely for you.